The AP explains things to us as if they were the Hamas public relations department. This is not only bad journalism, not only a shamefully slanted apologia for Hamas, but a real case study of how the Western media is totally taken in by dictatorships (or at least the ones that are anti-American). AP doesnt seem to get the rather obvious point that if there is no sign of Hamas imposing rule of Islamism in Gaza it is because people get the hint.

The document below is called "More beards, less political talk in Gaza," and it was written by Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press Writer. It appeared Jun 29, 2007. My glosses are in CAPS.
 

Gaza City, Gaza Strip -- Men are growing beards to show devotion to Islam, women are lowering hemlines, coffee shop debates on politics have fallen silent -- Gazans are adjusting to Hamas rule.

RIGHT. THEY ADJUST BY ACTING LIKE SUBJECTS OF THE TALIBAN. AND THE REPORTER BELIEVES THIS PROVES THAT THEY HAVE FREEDOM.

The changes are largely pre-emptive since Hamas has avoided a heavy-handed religious crackdown and assured Gazans the movement is not setting up a harsh Islamic regime, akin to Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

WHEW THATS A RELIEF. GAZANS, UNLIKE MS. EL DEEB ARE TOO SMART TO FEEL ASSURED. AFTER ALL, THEIR LIVES ARE ON THE LINE.

Still, many people are apprehensive, their fears stoked by Hamas hard-liners like Mahmoud Zahar, who said this week that he envisions a time when "with Gods help, Islam will be in every home."

AS OPPOSED NO DOUBT TO THE SOFT-LINERS LIKE....WHO? OF COURSE THERE ARE NO SUCH FACTIONS IN HAMAS AND MANY HAMAS LEADERS HAVE MADE STATEMENTS EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE BY ZAHAR. BY THE WAY THE ARTICLE DOESNT MENTION ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS.

Not making enemies is a preferred survival tactic two weeks after Hamas militiamen defeated Fatah fighters loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"Its not safe to say anything," said Samir Filfel, 42, a school guard who spent Friday with his wife and 10 children at Gaza Citys beach. Reflecting his caution, he erected a tent made of Hamas, Fatah and PLO flags as a sunshade.

FILFEL IS SMARTER THAN THE REPORTER.

"I don't know which group to support," he said, pointing to what he called his "national unity tent."

NOTE THE IMPLICATION HERE. IT ISNT AS IF HE HAS SOME DEEP-SEATED IDEOLOGICAL STANDPOINT OR LOYALTY. HE SIMPLY NEEDS TO MAKE SURE WHO WIN AND THEN DECIDE WHAT HE THINKS--THAT HES FOR THEM.

Emad, captain of a small pleasure boat, said he stopped talking politics with his customers. "When we go home, we can talk about Hamas and Fatah," said the skipper, who would give only his first name in fear of angering Hamas militants.

I THOUGHT THEY ARE NOT REPRESSING ANYONE, JUST PARANOID I GUESS.

At the Miami Studio barbershop, the most popular shave allows the wearer to mingle with any crowd. Known as "the sword," its a thin beard running from the sideburns along the jaw. Its trendy, and while not strictly in line with the bushy beard favored by Islamic hard-liners, it covers enough chin to be accepted by Hamas supporters, barber Nael Abu Bakr said.

THIS DEFINES THE EXTENT OF FREEDOM ALLOWED--YOU GET SOME VARIATION IN YOUR BEARD STYLE. SURE GLAD THAT HAMAS IS NOT LIKE THE TALIBAN!

At Gaza Citys PLO flag shop, owner Tarek Abu Dayya is also avoiding commitment. He ordered mugs with a picture of Ismail Haniyeh, the politician that Hamas insists is still the Palestinian prime minister even though he was fired by Abbas after the Gaza takeover. For now, the mugs will have only Haniyehs picture, not his title. "Maybe in a month, we will have elections, and he (Haniyeh) would be president," Abu Dayya said.

YES, AND PROBABLY THE ONLY CANDIDATE. THOUGH I DOUBT THEY WILL HOLD ELECTIONS. THEY ALREADY WON ONE. WHY BOTHER WITH REPETITION? ONE MAN, ONE VOTE, ONE TIME.

Large posters of Haniyeh and the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat, a perennial favorite at the shop, take up the main wall. Abbas posters have been relegated to a corner, and the folded-up yellow flags of Fatah are tucked away on backroom shelves.

WILL HAMAS ADAPT ARAFAT AS AN ICON? I CAN ARGUE WHY THEY SHOULD: HE WAS THE ONLY PIOUS MUSLIM IN THE FATAH LEADERSHIP; AS I HAVE ARGUED HE WAS AN ISLAMIST, ALBEIT AN OLD-FASHIONED ONE; AND HE PERMITTED HAMAS TO GROW THOUGH SOME OF HIS COLLEAGUES THOUGHT THIS WAS A SUICIDAL STRATEGY.

In a week, Abu Dayya has sold almost 1,000 green Hamas flags and has run out of Hamas T-shirts and car banners. Hamas militia, the Executive Force, which flies black-on-white flags, has put in an order for 100 banners for its new posts, some of them seized from Fatah during the fighting.

The fierce-looking militiamen in black uniforms have turned from menace to helper for some Gazans.

HELPING LITTLE OLD LADIES ACROSS THE STREET? HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE IN WESTERN MEDIA DISCUSSIONS OF TOTALITARIAN REGIMES FROM STALIN TO SADDAM HUSSEIN?

By dialing 109, women can quickly summon help if they feel harassed on the streets.

STOP! BUT WHAT NUMBER DO THEY CALL IF THEY FEEL HARASSED BY HAMAS VIGILANTES OR FORCES WHO BEAT THEM UP FOR NOT DRESSING PROPERLY OR OTHER THINGS LIKE BEING WITH A MALE WHO ISNT A RELATIVE? IN OTHER WORDS, WHICH HARASSMENT? OH, RIGHT, NON-OFFICIAL HARASSMENT.

Shoppers have been known to fight price-gouging by threatening to call the Executive Force, which advertises the emergency number on car stickers. During Fatah rule, police rarely showed up to settle disputes.

TRUE, FATAH PERMITTED ANARCHY BUT WHAT IF YOU ARE IN A DISPUTE WITH A HAMAS SUPPORTER. HOW WILL THE POLICE SETTLE IT AND WHAT SIDE WILL THEY TAKE?

For many Gazans, a sense of personal safety after a year of factional fighting is the upside of Hamas rule. There is no more fear of stumbling into the middle of a street battle or getting hit by a stray bullet.

THIS IS SORT OF TYPICAL OF WESTERN MEDIA IDIOCY ISNT IT? WITHOUT WHITE WASHING FATAH IT WAS OFTEN HAMAS THAT WAS FIRING THE BULLETS. NOW THAT THEY HAVE WON THEY DON'T NEED TO HAVE STREET BATTLES. (TRUE SOMETIMES BATTLES WERE BETWEEN FATAH FACTIONS BUT THE POINT STILL APPLIES TO MOST OF THEM)

Under the motto of security, Hamas has also banned a beloved custom -- firing in the air at weddings. Halima, a 35-year-old guest at a recent wedding, said the bridegroom was taken away by Hamas men until his family handed over the weapons they had been shooting during the celebration.

YES AND THEY WILL SOON BE BANNING OTHER BELOVED CUSTOMS--MUSIC, DANCING, AND OTHER "UN-ISLAMIC" ACTIVITIES.

There are no signs yet of Hamas trying to impose strict Islamic rule.

ON THAT SENTENCE I AM SPEECHLESS.

Even before the takeover, Gaza had become increasingly conservative, a response to poverty, isolation and fighting with Israel. The vast majority of women wear head scarves and a growing number even put on face veils, which were unheard of in the Palestinian territories a generation ago.

RIGHT. WHEN PEOPLE BECOME POORER AND ISOLATED AND FIGHT WITH ISRAEL THEY AUTOMATICALLY BECOME CONSERVATIVE. JUST LIKE IN POOR COUNTRIES LIKE SAUDI ARABIA. NOTICE HOW THIS DETACHES HAMAS ITSELF FROM ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THESE CHANGES. MUST BE ISRAELS FAULT AND OF COURSE AMERICAS.

Ibrahim Ibrach, a political analyst, said Hamas wants to cement its rule, not alienate Gazans with draconian measures. This could change, he said, if Gaza's isolation continues for a long time.

HEY ARE WE STUPID OR SOMETHING? WHAT IS THE HINT HERE: UNLESS THE WEST GIVES HAMAS DIPLOMATIC RECOGNITION AND MONEY IT WILL BECOME REPRESSIVE. AGAIN IT IS OUR FAULT. IF POVERTY AND ISOLATION LEAD TO WEARING VEILS THEY NO DOUBT ALSO LEAD TO RADICAL ISLAMIST MOVEMENTS BECOMING REPRESSIVE WHEN THESE SOCIETIES, WITH FOREIGN AID WOULD NO DOUBT BE HOTBEDS OF MINI-SKIRT WEARING AND DEMOCRACY.

Mosque preacher Khalil Yassin said distrust of Hamas is undeserved, saying the movement would never use force to spread its beliefs.

OH, PERISH THE THOUGHT. THEY NEVER USE FORCE TO SPREAD THEIR BELIEFS, SEE REFERENCE TO "fierce-looking militiamen in black uniforms" ABOVE. YOU SEE IT IS TRUE THAT YASSIN MADE THE QUOTE BUT THE REPORTER DECIDED TO USE IT WITHOUT ANY QUALIFICATION, RESPONSE OR JUST PLAIN FALLING DOWN AND LAUGHING.

"The problem is people don't understand Hamas well," he said while sitting in the shade at the beach next to his wife, who was covered from head to toe.

HIS WIFE BEING NO DOUBT THE VICTIM OF POVERTY AND ISOLATION.

Nearby, 30 young men from his mosque splashed in the water, some floating with a huge Hamas flag. "We have total conviction that God is on our side," Yassin said. Yet in a time of uncertainty, many don't want to take chances.

IS THIS A NON-SEQUITOR? YASSIN EXPRESSES WHAT USED TO BE CALLED FANATICAL EXTREMISM AND THE RESPONSE IS THAT SOME PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO TAKE CHANCES THAT HE MIGHT MEAN IT. WHEN PEOPLE SAY THAT GOD IS ON THEIR SIDE THIS IS USUALLY AN INDICATION THAT THEY WILL BE CHOPPING OFF BODY PARTS SOON.

Tailors say some customers have asked them to lower hemlines, and they no longer get requests for making pants tighter.

Dina al-Ankar, a 23-year-old social worker, said she recently got a modesty lecture from a taxi driver because she wore a tight top. The next day, her mother made her wear a long shirt over her jeans. "My mom was afraid. She told me not to cause trouble," al-Ankar said.

BECAUSE THE NEXT TIME THOSE PEOPLE WHO NEVER USE FORCE WILL BEAT HER UP OR KILL HER. SHE KNOWS IT BUT AP READERS WONT.

Mohammed Tawil, 24, who sells womens clothing, said he grew a beard during Gazas civil war when he was too depressed to shave.

Now he is thinking of keeping the facial hair because it gives him a sense of belonging. When he recently visited a Hamas relative, he said, he felt he was one of the guys. "They talked freely and gossiped, as if I was one of them."

YOU DON'T HAVE TO RESTRICT FREEDOM FORMALLY IF YOU USE THE POWER OF CONFORMITY AND FEAR.

But Tawil is staunchly secular and feels he is betraying his convictions. "I am not sure if it is evil or good. I am still testing," he said of his beard.

DON'T LOOK AT ME. I ALREADY HAVE A BEARD.

 
Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Interdisciplinary University, and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest book is The Truth About Syria (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).

This was submitted June 30, 2007.

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